DOCSLIB.ORG

Task Force on Youth Aging out of Foster Care

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Task Force on Youth Aging out of Foster Care 2016 HCR 94 FINAL REPORT TASK FORCE ON YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE FEBRUARY 1, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Page 3 II. CORE OUTCOMES & NEEDS OF YOUTH AGING OUT OF FC Page 9 1. Financial Self-Sufficiency Page 9 2. Educational/Vocational Attainment Page 12 3. Connections with Competent and Caring Adults Page 14 4. Reduction in Experiences with Homelessness Page 18 5. Prevention of High Risk Behaviors Page 20 6. Access to Health Care and Health Insurance Page 27 III. CORE NEEDS OF A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSITION SYSTEM Page 30 1. Independent Living Skills Assessment and Training Page 30 2. Safe and Affordable Place to Live Page 32 3. Specially Trained Case Managers Page 40 4. Resources to Address Special Needs Page 41 5. Aftercare Services Page 42 IV. CURRENT LOUISIANA PRACTICES Page 43 V. EXTENDED FOSTER CARE CONSIDERATIONS Page 45 VI. TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS Page 49 1. One-Stop Transition Center for Foster Youth/Alumni Page 49 2. Automatic Medicaid Enrollment and Redeterminations Page 50 3. Financial Security Page 50 4. Specialized DCFS Staff Page 50 5. Extended Foster Care Page 51 6. Fund Post-Secondary Education for Foster Youth Page 52 VII. CONCLUSION Page 53 VIII. APPENDICES Page 54 1. Louisiana Data Page 54 2. Federal Mandates Page 55 3. Current La. Chafee FC Independence Prog. Services Page 58 4. LA Educational Training Voucher (ETV) Program Page 65 5. Chafee Grant Utilization Report Page 66 6. Extended Foster Care Service by Other States Page 68 7. Previous Louisiana Young Adult Program Page 71 8. Community Supports Page 73 9. Glossary of Terms Page 74 10. Louisiana 2015 NYTD Data Report Page 93 IX. REFERENCES Page 97 X. OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES Page 103 2 Report from the Task Force on Youth Aging Out of Foster Care I. Introduction and Background: Shantel had no trouble fitting all of her earthly possessions into two trash bags. The problem was finding a place to unpack those bags – a safe place that she could call home. Shantel was 18 years old, and she had officially “aged out” of the foster care system. “Young people like me who age out of the system usually don’t have the luxury of having a family to help,” Shantel said. “The decisions we face every day – how we pay our bills, put food in our mouths and keep a roof over our heads – are difficult, and we have to answer them without the guidance or support of a family.” From: “Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home PathFinders expands to meet needs of youth ‘aging out’ of Louisiana foster care.” by Marc Eichelberger, Louisiana Baptist Children's Home. APRIL 20, 2015 The Task Force on Youth Aging out of Foster Care (referred to herein as Task Force) was created in the 2015 Louisiana legislative session to study the public resources and financing options for programs to assist youth aging out of foster care in Louisiana. This legislation was precipitated by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) ending a program known as the Young Adult Program in July 2013, which allowed for ongoing financial and case management support for youth achieving the age of majority in the foster care system. DCFS, legislators and advocates are aware of the need to provide youth who will exit foster care at age eighteen with opportunities to be meaningfully involved in a comprehensive transition planning process focused on the development of independent living skills in areas such as: Establishing safe, stable, and affordable housing; Accessing health insurance and healthcare services; Completing an educational/vocational training program; Pursuing employment opportunities; and, Creating healthy, permanent, connections. Many caring people from state government agencies as well as non-governmental organizations collaborated to enact this legislation and serve on this Task Force. The goal was to bring together a group of individuals with an experienced view of the needs of this population of youth to provide the legislature research-based recommendations on how Louisiana can more fully and adequately serve youth aging out of foster care. Louisiana wants to ensure these youth achieve enhanced life outcomes. 3 The Task Force has drawn from the experience and successes of communities outside of the State who all face the same issues with older youth. Twenty-three states, one federal tribe, and the District of Columbia have extended foster care to age 21 in recognition of the transition realities of youth and young adults from “normal’ families.(1) Since Louisiana has not done this, it is imperative Louisiana does whatever is needed to help youth who age out of foster care A recent editorial in the Times-Picayune written by Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Judge Ernestine S. Gray and Joy Bruce, Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in New Orleans states… “For the past several years, one of the fastest-growing groups of children entering foster care has been those ages 14-17. The state's goal for the majority of them is to find an "Alternative Permanent Living Arrangement." It means that reunification with a child's parents, placement with a relative, adoption or legal guardianship all have been ruled out and the child is expected to stay in foster care until he or she becomes an adult. As a result, the child's 18th birthday often marks the end of any support. National statistics show that, without support, these children are almost 50 percent less likely to obtain their high school diploma by 19, and only 3 percent have earned college degrees by 25 (compared to 28 percent of everybody else). Within a year of exiting care, one in five is homeless. Within two years, one in four is incarcerated. And the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder is 21.5 percent -- five times higher than average, higher even than that of American war veterans. About half are unemployed. Those are national statistics. The numbers in New Orleans are worse. From: Foster children need caring and support as they leave the system.” Editorial published on June 03, 2016 by Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Judge Ernestine S. Gray and Joy M. Bruce, executive director of CASA New Orleans and co-chair for the CYPB Task Force on Foster Youth Aging Out of Care. The primary focus of the child welfare system over the past 12 years has been on helping foster youth achieve permanency. As stated in the Children’s’ Bureau article: Enhancing Permanency for Youth in Out-of-Home Care, “Permanency for youth in foster care should include a permanent legal connection to a family, such as reuniting with birth parents, adoption, kinship care, or legal guardianship. However, when these options are less likely, workers can help youth pursue physical or relational permanency.” (2) A National Center for Youth Development article captured the issue clearly: “In reality, permanency is not a placement. It is a state of mind. It is about positive relationships. It is knowing that there is someone out there with whom you are so strongly connected 4 that they will always be there for you, at any time of the day or night. It is knowing that you have a family who will celebrate birthdays, weddings, and graduations with you. It is knowing where you will go and what will be expected of you on important holidays. It means being connected, legally or not, through relationships that last a lifetime.” (3) Physical permanency is having a place to live; relational permanency is having a long term relationship or connection with a caring adult. Achieving both of these goals is often elusive. A comprehensive transition system prepares youth concurrently for both. It is well known outcomes for youth who exit care without a permanent family are poor. The Midwest Evaluation on Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth compared individuals who had aged out of foster care with individuals of the same age in the general population. At age 26, individuals who transitioned out of foster care experienced more unemployment, lower incomes, more economic hardships (e.g., being unable to pay rent or utilities), poorer health, and higher arrest rates than youth of the same age in the general population. (4) Efforts to find permanent connections and hopefully, permanent homes should always be the primary goal of foster care workers. However, Louisiana has learned, as have other states, in spite of years of intensive efforts to create permanent connections with caring adults, there continues to be a significant number of youth who either cannot make these connections or the connections they do establish do not include a place to live. Nationally, the number of youth aging out of foster care to life on their own is similar to what it was in 1986 when the first federal independent living initiative was passed by Congress. (5) The research on homeless youth shows up to 37% of foster youth experience homelessness after aging out. (6) This is not always due to a lack of effort but rather reflects the complexity of the issue. A best case scenario… Jason, age 16, has been in foster care since age 12 and knows he will have to leave his foster home soon after his 18th birthday. Jason is close to his maternal grandmother who lives in a one-bedroom apartment. He visits her often and feels emotionally supported by her. But he will not be able to move in with her when he ages out of foster care. His mother died when he was 12 and he never met his father. He does not want to be adopted as he feels his grandmother is his real family.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Homelessness Among Older People: Assessing Strategies and Frameworks Across Canada
    CRSP/RCPS VOL.74 SPRING 2016 Homelessness among older people: Assessing strategies and frameworks across Canada Homelessness among older people: Assessing strategies and frameworks across Canada Amanda Grenier Associate Professor and Gilbrea Chair in Aging and Mental Health Department of Health, Aging, and Society, McMaster University Rachel Barken Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology, York University Tamara Sussman Associate Professor, School of Social Work, McGill University David W. Rothwell Assistant Professor, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University Valérie Bourgeois-Guérin Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amanda Grenier (Corresponding author), Department of Health, Aging, and Society, McMaster University, Kenneth Taylor Hall, Room 228, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M4. Contact: [email protected] Our research is funded by an Insight grant of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). For more information please consult: http://aginghomelessness.com/ Citation Grenier, A., Barken, R., Sussman, T., Rothwell, D., Bourgeois-Guérin, V. (2016). Homelessness among older people: Assessing strategies and frameworks across Canada. Canadian Review of Social Policy/ Revue Canadienne de Politique Sociale, 74, pp. 1-39. Canadian Review of Social Policy/RCPS 74 SPRING 2016 1 Homelessness among older people Abstract Homelessness among older people is expected to rise as a result of unmet need and demographic change. Yet, strategies and responses to homelessness across Canada tend to focus on younger groups, overlooking the circumstances and needs of older people (i.e., age 50+). This article reports the results of a content analysis of government planning documents on homelessness conducted in 2014.
    [Show full text]
  • Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement
    Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement http://journals.cambridge.org/CJG Additional services for Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here A Literature Review of Homelessness and Aging: Suggestions for a Policy and Practice-Relevant Research Agenda Amanda Grenier, Rachel Barken, Tamara Sussman, David Rothwell, Valérie Bourgeois-Guérin and Jean-Pierre Lavoie Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement / Volume 35 / Issue 01 / March 2016, pp 28 - 41 DOI: 10.1017/S0714980815000616, Published online: 19 January 2016 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0714980815000616 How to cite this article: Amanda Grenier, Rachel Barken, Tamara Sussman, David Rothwell, Valérie Bourgeois-Guérin and Jean-Pierre Lavoie (2016). A Literature Review of Homelessness and Aging: Suggestions for a Policy and Practice-Relevant Research Agenda. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 35, pp 28-41 doi:10.1017/S0714980815000616 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/CJG, IP address: 38.105.193.36 on 07 Mar 2016 A Literature Review of Homelessness and Aging: Suggestions for a Policy and Practice-Relevant Research Agenda* Amanda Grenier , 1 , 2 Rachel Barken , 2 , 3 Tamara Sussman , 4 David Rothwell , 4 Valérie Bourgeois-Guérin , 5 and Jean-Pierre Lavoie 4 RÉSUMÉ Le sans-abrisme chez les personnes âgées est une préoccupation croissante à travers le Canada et devrait augmenter avec le changement démographique (Crane & Warnes, 2010 ; Culhane, Métraux, Byrne, Stino, et Bainbridge, 2013 ). Pourtant, les connaissances actuelles, les politiques et les pratiques concernant le sans-abrisme ont tendance largement de se concentrer sur des populations plus jeunes.
    [Show full text]
  • Older Adults and Homelessness
    Position Paper Older Adults and Homelessness In partnership with: 1 The population of older adults experiencing homelessness in Calgary is growing quickly, and housing and service providers need to understand how best to help this highly marginalized group of people. Given this context, more systemic efforts need to be made to prevent homelessness before it occurs. Preface Calgary’s older adult population is increasing quickly as the first wave of the baby boomers reached 65 in 2011. As of the 2016 census, there were 138,405 individuals over 65 in Calgary, or 11% (Statistics Canada, 2017). Projections estimate that by 2026, there will be 206,000 individuals over 65, which will rise to 287,000, or 15% of the population, by 2042 (City of Calgary, 2017; City of Calgary 2016). Services and programs, especially for vulnerable older adults, will need to keep up with this increase in demand. Conscious of this, the Older Adult Council of Calgary created a series of position papers to look into key issues of concern to this growing population, with a focus on more vulnerable older adults. This paper focuses on arguably the most marginalized group of older adults: those experiencing homelessness. Introduction Homelessness can affect individuals of any age, but older adults face unique vulnerabilities. People who have experienced episodic or chronic homelessness throughout their life can seem to age prematurely, or be “functionally geriatric.” There are also some people who experience homelessness for the first time as an older adult (Burns, 2016; McDonald et al., 2007). Many of these people are stigmatized multiple times: by age; by homelessness; by mental health issues, or; by substance abuse.
    [Show full text]
  • A Survey of Homelessness Laws
    The Forum September 2020 Is a House Always a Home?: A Survey of Homelessness Laws Marlei English J.D. Candidate, SMU Dedman School of Law, 2021; Staff Editor for the International Law Review Association Find this and additional student articles at: https://smulawjournals.org/ilra/forum/ Recommended Citation Marlei English, Is a House Always a Home?: A Survey of Homelessness Laws (2020) https://smulawjournals.org/ilra/forum/. This article is brought to you for free and open access by The Forum which is published by student editors on The International Law Review Association in conjunction with the SMU Dedman School of Law. For more information, please visit: https://smulawjournals.org/ilra/. Is a House Always a Home?: A Survey of Homelessness Laws By: Marlei English1 March 6, 2020 Homelessness is a plague that spares no country, yet not a single country has cured it. The type of legislation regarding homelessness in a country seems to correlate with the severity of its homelessness problem. The highly-variative approaches taken by each country when passing their legislation can be roughly divided into two categories: aid-based laws and criminalization laws. Analyzing how these homelessness laws affect the homeless community in each country can be an important step in understanding what can truly lead to finding the “cure” for homelessness rather than just applying temporary fixes. I. Introduction to the Homelessness Problem Homelessness is not a new issue, but it is a current, and pressing issue.2 In fact, it is estimated that at least 150 million individuals are homeless.3 That is about two percent of the population on Earth.4 Furthermore, an even larger 1.6 billion individuals may be living without adequate housing.5 While these statistics are startling, the actual number of individuals living without a home could be even larger because these are just the reported and observable numbers.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CULTURE of HOMELESSNESS: an Ethnographic Study
    THE CULTURE OF HOMELESSNESS: An ethnographic study Megan Honor Ravenhill London School of Economics PhD in Social Policy UMI Number: U615614 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615614 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I V|£:S H S f <§195 I O I S S 4 -7 ABSTRACT The thesis argues that homelessness is complex and synergical in nature. It discusses the life events and processes that often trigger, protect against and predict the likelihood of someone becoming homeless (and/or roofless). It argues, that people’s routes into homelessness are complex, multiple and interlinked and are the result of biographical, structural and behavioural factors. This complexity increases with the age of the individual and the duration of their rooflessness. The thesis explores the homeless culture as a counter-culture created through people being pushed out of mainstream society. It argues, that what happened to people in the past, created the nature of the homeless culture. Furthermore it is argued that any serious attempt at resettling long-term rough sleepers needs to consider what it is that the homeless culture offers and whether or how this can be replicated within housed society.
    [Show full text]
  • Homelessness in Sacramento County Results from the 2019 Point-In-Time Count
    - Homelessness in Sacramento County Results from the 2019 Point-in-Time Count A report prepared by California State University, Sacramento for Sacramento Steps Forward Acknowledgments The research team would like to thank the approximately 900 volunteers who participated in the 2019 Homeless Count—the largest turn out of volunteers to date in Sacramento--who collectively canvassed over 42 square miles of area in Sacramento County, and walked a combined 462 miles of canvassing routes, to talk and engage with some of the most marginalized members of our community. The overwhelming response from our diverse community to the call for more volunteers was inspiring and exceeded our expectations. The breadth and scope of this project would have not been possible without the generosity of time and effort exhibited by hundreds of volunteers. The research team would like to also acknowledge the tremendous support and resources provided by dozens of organizations and community-partners that made the 2019 Homeless Count possible. • California Homeless Youth Project • Public Affairs & Advocacy, • Citrus Heights Police Department Sacramento State University • City of Citrus Heights • Rancho Cordova Police Department • City of Folsom • Sacramento 100 Day Challenge to • City of Isleton Tackle Youth Homelessness team • City of Sacramento • Sacramento County • College of Health and Human • Sacramento County Dept. of Human Services, Sacramento State University Assistance • Community Engagement Center, • Sacramento County Sheriff's Sacramento State University
    [Show full text]
  • A Literature Review of Homelessness and Aging: Suggestions for a Policy and Practice-Relevant Research Agenda*
    A Literature Review of Homelessness and Aging: Suggestions for a Policy and Practice-Relevant Research Agenda* Amanda Grenier , 1 , 2 Rachel Barken , 2 , 3 Tamara Sussman , 4 David Rothwell , 4 Valérie Bourgeois-Guérin , 5 and Jean-Pierre Lavoie 4 RÉSUMÉ Le sans-abrisme chez les personnes âgées est une préoccupation croissante à travers le Canada et devrait augmenter avec le changement démographique (Crane & Warnes, 2010 ; Culhane, Métraux, Byrne, Stino, et Bainbridge, 2013 ). Pourtant, les connaissances actuelles, les politiques et les pratiques concernant le sans-abrisme ont tendance largement de se concentrer sur des populations plus jeunes. De même, la recherche et les politiques sur le vieillissement en général négligent le sans-abrisme. Les réponses au problème de sans-abrisme chez les personnes âgées doivent répondre aux besoins complexes liés à la santé, la sécurité du revenu et le logement. Basé sur un examen exhaustif de la littérature, cet article présente les domaines de recherche afi n d'éclairer les politiques, les stratégies et les services pour les divers groupes des aînés sans-abri. Nous clarifi ons les intersections du vieillissement et du sans-abrisme; examinons les statistiques pertinentes, y compris la prévalence estimée; discutons des voies et des variations de l'expérience; et determinons les lacunes dans les connaissances. Nous concluons par un appel à un programme de recherche inclusive qui aidera à créér des politiques et des pratiques visant à réduire et fi nalement à éliminer le sans-abrisme chez les personnes âgées au Canada. ABSTRACT Homelessness among older people is a growing concern across Canada and is expected to rise with demographic change (Crane & Warnes, 2010 ; Culhane, Metraux, Byrne, Stino, & Bainbridge, 2013 ).
    [Show full text]
  • Wilding, Mark and Madoc-Jones, Iolo and Ahmed, Anya and Gibbons, An
    Wilding, Mark and Madoc-Jones, Iolo and Ahmed, Anya and Gibbons, An- drea and Jones, Katy and Rogers, Michaela (2019) Policy Transfer and Part 2 of the Housing Act (Wales) 2014. Social Policy and Society, 19 (1). pp. 171-182. ISSN 1474-7464 Downloaded from: https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/623622/ Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746419000344 Please cite the published version https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk Themed AMJ SPS-TS19-6 Wilding et al 28.06.19 Policy Transfer and Part 2 of the Housing Act (Wales) 2014 Mark Wilding, University of Salford [email protected] Iolo Madoc-Jones, Wrexham Glyndwr University [email protected] Anya Ahmed, University of Salford [email protected] Andrea Gibbons, University of Salford [email protected] Katy Jones, Manchester Metropolitan University [email protected] Michaela Rogers, University of Sheffield [email protected] Abstract Part 2 of the Housing Act (Wales) 2014 and its implementation has been keenly observed by governments outside of Wales, as they continue to search for policy solutions to help address the homelessness crisis. This paper examines the extent to which there has been policy transfer from Wales to other national contexts and the potential for such transfer to occur in the future. It is identified that some transfer has already taken place within the UK and there is the potential for future policy transfer both within the UK and internationally. Adaptation to each of the new contexts is necessary to underpin successful transfer of provisions of the Act, however, outside of the UK this will need to be more extensive and include the introduction of a right to housing.
    [Show full text]
  • Aging and Homelessness
    Literature Review: Aging and Homelessness conducted as part of the SSHRC project: "Homelessness in late life: growing old on the streets, in shelters and long-term care" (project no 435- 2012-1197) Authors: Amanda Grenier, Rachel Barken, Tamara Sussman, David Rothwell, and Jean-Pierre Lavoie With thanks to: Victoria Burns, Laura Henderson, Sebastien Mott, and Malorie Moore Co-Investigators: Amanda Grenier (PI), Tamara Sussman, David Rothwell, and Jean-Pierre Lavoie October 2013 2 Aging and Homelessness (Phase I Literature Review) Introduction This report reviews the state of literature on aging and homelessness. A substantial literature spanning several decades explores homelessness and the programs designed to address this issue (Lee, Tyler, & Wright, 2010; Shlay & Rossi, 1992; Toro, 2007; Trypuc & Robinson, 2009). However, present knowledge and practices about homelessness tend to focus on youth, younger adults, and young families, with far less attention to older people (Beynon, 2009; Burns, Grenier, Lavoie, Rothwell, & Sussman, 2012; Cohen, 1999; Crane & Warnes, 2001; Gonyea, Mills-Dick, & Bachman, 2010; McDonald, Dergal, & Cleghorn, 2004). Older people who are homeless are depicted as an 'invisible population' (Gonyea et al., 2010), but with demographic shifts the numbers of older people experiencing homelessness can be expected to rise (Edmonston & Fong, 2011). Population aging calls for research and policy attention to aging and homelessness. This report focuses on the intersections of aging and homelessness. We draw on international
    [Show full text]
  • Homelessness Among Older People: a Comparative Study in Three Countries of Prevention and Alleviation
    Homelessness among older people: a comparative study in three countries of prevention and alleviation Wintringham Bryan Lipmann, Frances Mirabelli, Alice Rota-Bartelink May 2004 This Report represents the results and analysis of the Australian component of a tri-nation study of the causes of homelessness amongst newly-homeless older people in England, Australia and the USA. The intention of the participating organisations in America, England and Australia is to produce a final report in one volume detailing the combined results and comparative analyses. WINTRINGHAM Wintringham is a not-for-profit welfare organisation that provides a wide range of services to elderly homeless men and women in Melbourne, Australia. These services include low and high care residential care, community based care, outreach and advocacy services and an extensive range of housing options. Wintringham provides support and care to over 650 aged homeless people every night. For a more detailed description of the services provided by Wintringham, or to make contact with the organisation, readers are referred to our web address www.wintringham.org.au Disclaimer: The opinions, findings and proposals contained in this report represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the attitudes or opinions of the Commonwealth, State or Territory Governments. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The partners in the three-nation study of older homeless people were the Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing, University of Sheffield, England; the Committee to End Elder Homelessness, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; the Elders Living at Home Program, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and Wintringham, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Australian element has been funded by the Department of Family and Community Services of the Commonwealth Government.
    [Show full text]
  • Jennifer-Porter-Psyd
    2/11/2020 INTERVENTIONS, STRATEGIES, AND RESOURCES FOR WORKING WITH THE HOMELESS POPULATION JENNIFER PORTER, M.A., PSY.D KATIE MENDOZA, M.A., PRE‐DOCTORAL INTERN NATALIA OLARTE STAUNTON, M.A., LMFT, PRE‐DOCTORAL INTERN 1 PREVALENCE OF HOMELESS OLDER ADULTS • Literature review conducted by Ng, Rizvi, and Kunik (2013), examined the prevalence and contributing factors of homelessness in older adults. • Prevalence studies were grouped • Comprehensive focus on homeless populations (4) • Range from 20% ‐ 38% • Information gathered at outreach events for the homeless (2) • 55% and 39% • Sample shelters (3) • Range from 8% to 24% • Overall median prevalence is 24%, up from 11% in 1990s. 2 CAUSES OF HOMELESSNESS IN OLDER ADULTS • Ng, Rizvi, and Kunik (2013), reviewed 7 U.S. studies that came up in their search for causes of homelessness. • 7 categories for risk factors were created: • Financial/employment problems, • Housing problems, • Lack of social support, • Physical health problems, • Mental illness, • Substance use and gambling disorders, and • Criminal history 3 1 2/11/2020 NG, RIZVI, AND KUNIK (2013) FINDINGS • Financial problems (6) • Employment problems (6) • Lack of social support (6) • Health problems (4) • Mental health • Physical • Addiction problems (3) • Criminal behavior (4) • Housing problems (2) 4 LITERATURE REVIEW IN CANADA • Grenier, Barken, Sussman, Rothwell, Bourgeois‐Guérin, and Lavoie (2016) discussed the complex interconnections between • Structural conditions • Cumulative circumstances • Risk factors, and • Trigger events
    [Show full text]
  • Aging and the Homeless Community
    VA National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs THE HOMELESS EVIDENCE AND RESEARCH SYNTHESIS ROUNDTABLE SERIES Aging and the Homeless Community December 2015 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Aging and the Homeless Community HERS symposium held on November 19, 2015 brought researchers on homelessness and aging together with policy makers and advocates to discuss the projected population growth and special needs of the older homeless Veteran population and the impact this may have for the VA and its community partners. There is evidence of an aging trend among homeless adults in the United States, including Veterans. The cohort born between 1954 and 1965 faces an elevated risk of homelessness. The median age is over 50, yet this group has health problems similar to those in the general population in their 70s and 80s: high rates of cardio-metabolic diseases and substance use complicated by geriatric conditions such as cognitive deficits, visual and hearing impairments, urinary incontinence, mobility challenges, and the need for assistance with activities of daily living. Mortality rates are high, with heart disease and cancer as the leading causes of death. A current study on palliative and end-of-life care for homeless Veterans indicates that lack of appropriate housing is a significant concern. All of these issues have important implications for designing both the built environment and care systems and strategies. Suggested recommendations to this end include better integrating VA and community health care, social services, and housing programs to enable Veterans to age in place for as long as possible and avoid nursing home placement; creating more flexible housing criteria; and educating end-of-life and homeless care providers about resources available in and outside of VA.
    [Show full text]